I felt great going into training camp after an amazing summer where I had the opportunity to travel to Spain and the island of Ibiza for about 10 days with some friends. We rented a beach house and enjoyed the perfect weather and the ocean – the water is the color of an Aquafina water bottle! One day we rented a boat, and I saw some of the biggest yachts I’ve ever seen in my life, like the kind you see on TV. Some of them even had helicopter landing pads! The food was great, and we ate seafood almost every single day. One restaurant on the island literally brought us fish on ice, and once you selected the fish you wanted, they would go cook it for you. Some days we missed American food, though, so checked out their KFC one night. Not only did they have chicken, but they also had sushi, pizza and pasta on the regular menu. The sushi was pretty weird if you ask me. And then another night we went to Burger King, and there was music playing and about 50 people dancing in the middle of the restaurant having a good time. So that was a new experience for us!

One of the highlights of our trip was seeing some great DJs who were out there performing. Famous DJs from all over the world, including David Guetta, Amici, Afrojack and Ghost, performed at different venues almost each night we were there. They play electronic/house music, which isn’t typically the kind of music I listen to, but it was a lot of fun to see them live. And we met a lot of interesting people from all over Europe.

Another great part of the summer was the Kentucky Alumni Charity Game. It was really special seeing my former teammates and being able to put on that Kentucky jersey in the Rupp Arena, where I hadn’t been in five years or so. Playing alongside some Kentucky legends, seeing all the fans … it brought back great memories of college basketball. And it benefitted some great charities. It was a lot of fun, and I hope we can do events like that together more often.

When I wasn’t vacationing or spending time with my family, I was training in Santa Barbara, which is about six hours from Sacramento. I worked out twice a day and was really focused on creating one-on-one scoring opportunities, improving my abilities around the basket, and I constantly worked on my jump shot and rebounding. I lived across the street from the beach, so I spent time out by the pool and beach and ate all kinds of Mexican food.

On The MoveAfter living in a hotel for the second half of last season, I finally moved in to an apartment and I’m still in the process of getting settled. Some of my stuff is put away, but there’s a bunch of items and clothes still in boxes … and more things en route. It will probably be another month or so before the apartment is finished. It took some time to get familiar with my surroundings, but now I know my way around pretty well. Luckily for me – a Chipotleaddict – there’s a Chipotle a couple blocks away. I’ve been eating there every other day.

Back In ActionAt the start of a new season, I always set new personal and team goals. This is the first full season I am in Sacramento, and we are focused on a winning record and putting ourselves in a positive situation heading in to the end of the season and playoffs. Personally, I am focused on my game getting better, becoming stronger in my role, and really helping my team succeed and achieve our goals.

The team has come together really well this year with great chemistry and strong relationships off the court. We are always joking around and hangout with each other outside the gym. I am really thankful to have my former Kentucky teammate DeMarcus Cousins on the team with me — he’s like my little brother. It’s great to have that comfort of having a friend around and it’s just like old times for us. Now the team just needs to translate that chemistry to the court so we can play better for each other and for our fans. We have a strong core and a great nucleus of players and coaches, so I am confident that we will be successful.

Speaking of the fans, they have been showing so much support for us here in Sacramento. They are at every single game, screaming and cheering as loud as they can. Just this week the fans broke the Guinness World Record for Loudest Crowd Roar at an Indoor Stadium! It was so loud I had trouble hearing what coach was saying.

Patrick’s PickSince I’m a pretty big movie buff, I thought it would be cool to recommend a different movie each time I blog. Hope you like my picks!

My first recommendation is “Man on Fire” starring Denzel Washington. It’s my all-time favorite movie! It’s an emotional movie with a great storyline, and overall, it’s a masterpiece. It was impactful on the film industry, as well as Denzel’s career, and it’s a must-see.

I’ll be doing a lot of Tweeting this season, so make sure to follow me @pdpatt.